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This weekend, we attended the 10th annual Belfast Wienerfest in Belfast, Maine. When we vacationed in the area last year, we happened upon this little-known event an had a ball! Wienerfest is a celebration of all things Dachshund. Doxies of all shapes, sizes and colors congregate, and it becomes one big bark-fest! The event includes a parade, costume contest, wiener dog races and vendors! Last year, we had ‘store bought’ costumes (the girls were the ultimate New England sports fans). This year, I went all out and made them costumes! While the weather wasn’t the best, it still was a fabulous event! There was a professional photographer on hand to memorialize the girls in their fabulous Geisha Girl costumes!

Oh my lovely Geisha Girls – My favorite part is the hair

Unfortunately, the girls did NOT win the costume contest, although they did get into the finals (top 5 out of 36). The local favorite won (drat). It was fixed!!! 🙂 We still had a blast.

The girls had doggie ice cream from the Loyal Biscuit Company. It was sweet potato ice cream with meat gravy and liver ‘sprinkles.’ As you an see, they gobbled it up!

Nom Nom Nom

Oh, that’s SO good!

Both dogs enjoyed the day, although Juliet was a bit more outgoing while Jasmine was content to view the festivities from the comfort and security of their ever-popular doggie stroller.

Juliet enjoys Wienerfest

Do not feel bad for Jasmine. She’s definitely enjoying the mini-vacay!

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Jasmine has been on crate rest for about two weeks now. She’s not happy about it. It’s very apparent that she’s feeling better and that she’s NOT happy about being crated.

For those of you who haven’t had a pup that has been on crate rest…well, you’re lucky. Imagine being in prison; your cell is just about large enough to stand, lie down, turn around and sit in. Your meals are all served there. The only time you get to go out is when you have to use the bathroom. Your friends are walking around you and taunting you through the bars. Your family is sitting outside your cell, giving you treats and pets, but you can’t go out and hug them.

You stare at them with sad, lonely eyes. For hours and hours on end. You finally relent, bury yourself in your blankies (yes, your prison has blankies), and in a huff…you nap. But at every move, every crackle of a plastic bag, you jump up, ready for action.

That’s what the last two weeks have been like. Now, when Jasmine had IVDD the last time, this lasted EIGHT weeks. Of course, some of that time was spent at the kennel (it was right in the middle of our move from California to New Hampshire). It SEEMED easier. Perhaps because Jasmine was a different dog back then; she was much less playful, energetic or demonstrative. And she didn’t have Juliet traipsing around either!

Jasmine’s sentence is officially over on Friday. Thank goodness! And it seems that there are no serious/lasting injuries. She doesn’t seem to be in any pain or discomfort.

What’s also nice is that the vet and the vet tech both noted how very different Jasmine is today. When she first started seeing the vet in NH, she used to shake in fear so badly that they could barely keep her still enough to do blood draws and exams. Even though she’s still scared, she’s a much more calm and ‘normal’ dog today. It’s good to see that other people notice the positive changes in her.

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This time, Jasmine did not take to the recliner without my permission, She was sitting with me, and I got up to get something. As I was returning, she looked so guilty for being up there…I had to snap this photo. So cute!

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Jasmine was getting much more vocal before her injury. When she wanted something, she was starting to squeak and woof at me. It was great to see her beginning to communicate with me, and I was thrilled.

While I thought her crate rest would hamper her communication, it has in fact reinforced it. She has woken me up at 4:00 a.m. with a small but distinct whine, and I’ve immediately responded by taking her outside. One time, she barely made it out the door before she went. She has also woofed at me when I’ve given her “crate breaks” for meals or a little petting. The woof has told me that she needs her outside break as well…and I’ve been right. I’ve wished in the past that Jasmine would communicate her needs, and she’s finally doing it. Of course, all of it is up to my interpretation. She might be saying, “Woof–I want lap time” and I interpret it as “Woof–I wanna go outside;” then when we get out there, she goes out of habit.

The crate rest hasn’t been fun, but it’s now part of her daily routine. We’re thankfully halfway there, and I think she’s going to be just fine–just in time for our cross-country odyssey. Now THAT will be an adventure!

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First of all, I really like the fact that Jasmine doesn’t bark. I’ve experienced excessively barky dogs. In fact, our new neighbor next door has one. It scared Jasmine while we were outside…I ignored it and encouraged Jasmine to “go.” Thankfully, she did.

Instead of being barky, Jasmine whines. Really really really softly. It’s kind of cute and (on occasion) annoying at the same time. She whines and does the “pounce and run” when she wants up on my lap. She whines when we’re out for one of her favorite activities–going for a car ride. In that case, I think she wants my attention WHILE she’s enjoying the ride. Sorry Jazzy, I can’t do that and drive safely. She whines when she wants something and is trying to convince me to do whatever it is she wants. I generally have to guess what it is based upon the time of day. I never quite know if I got it right, but regardless of whether I did–or not–my actions generally provide her with an action that is pleasurable.

I know I’m reinforcing a bad habit–whining. It could get annoying, and then I won’t be able to get her to stop. However, she doesn’t ask for much and is not entirely communicative, so I’m encouraging her to TELL ME when she wants something. Sometimes she gets it (lap time) and sometimes she doesn’t. But at least she’s communicating with me. I like that.

Now if I could only get her to whine and paw when she needs to go out. I never did get her targeting and ringing the bell. However, I DID get her to recognize the bell as the “go outside” noise when she’s half a house away.